Rapid Response: The WannaCry Ransomware Outbreak

Special thanks to Asher Langton, Peter Gael, Laurence Pitt, and Lee Fisher for their assistance in this rapid response.

[Update as of May 13th]

Microsoft has just released a public bulletin along with patches for Windows XP, Windows 8, and certain server platforms that did not receive the original MS17-010 update.You may view their announcement in full here.

Additionally, we've seen a new variant of WannaCry that does not leverage the original killswitch mechanism. Researchers currently suspect that this mechanism was an attempt at bypassing certain types of dynamic-analysis engines that automatically reply to arbitrary GET requests, thus preventing detonation within the environment and avoiding detection.

[Update as of May 15th]

WannaCry continues to evolve with multiple variations now propagating across the Internet. The vast majority of them still contain the original Sandbox evasion technique, albeit they point to new unregistered domains. Researchers are currently analyzing and registering domains as they are identified, although there are variations without this particular mechanism that are not susceptible to the killswitch behaviour.

Based on research by @hackerfantastic, it appears as though the likelihood of receiving a decryption key is low should a user pay for decryption services. WannaCry authors have received (at the time of writing) in excess of $51,000 for their efforts.

The information that we have at the time of this writing indicates that the initial point of infection within most organizations is via traditional mechanisms, primarily email and web-delivered PDF's sourced from the Necurs botnet. The novelty of WannaCry is its ability to break out from the initial “Patient Zero” and propagate laterally across an SMBv1-enabled network in rapid fashion.

The SMBv1 Unauthenticated Remote-Code-Execution (RCE) that has enabled WannaCry’s success was released in the recent ShadowBrokers dump on April 14th, 2017. It’s unofficially known as “EternalBlue” and was addressed preemptively by Microsoft on March 14th in the security bulletin MS17-010.

A look at one of the public examples of EternalBlue reveals why it’s so effective; it requires absolutely no interaction on the part of the attacker and facilitates an effective distribution mechanism for ransomware inside a vulnerable enterprise.

Credit to Juan Sacco for his PoC Code seen above (payload removed). Based on our analysis, it's highly probably that this code is being used directly by WannaCry

While Microsoft was proactive in releasing a patch for the SMBv1 issue (MS17-010), many users still have not deployed the fix, as can be evidenced by WannaCry's success. Also of note, no patch was released for Windows XP, which is still prevalently used in certain industries and geographies.

Juniper Protections

While the malware’s ability is concerning, Juniper security customers can rest easier that their environments remain protected. Below, we'll review the tools available to you today to ensure that an outbreak is prevented.

First and foremost, customers who have deployed our advanced anti-malware solution Juniper Sky ATP are very likely protected on multiple levels.

If the network-based delivery mechanism is new or unique to you as a customer, the anti-malware portion of SkyATP will identify WannaCry using its robust inspection pipeline, made up of signature-based detection, machine learning-driven static analysis, and deceptive dynamic analysis (sandboxing). We’ve examined 24 unique samples as of May 12th and all have been caught within 30 seconds.

Assuming Sky ATP did not block the file outright upon download, Sky ATP is designed to identify the new file as malicious and propagate this information to the on-premises SRX device, which in turn will quarantine the malware at the network level.

WannaCry Ransomware identified within Juniper Sky ATP.

Behavioural Analysis Report of WannaCry within Juniper Sky ATP.

Customers who have deployed Juniper’s Secure Analytics (JSA) solution are well equipped to defend against many types of ransomware. In the specific case of WannaCry, the SIEM will generate multiple events and offences based on anomaly detection (peer-to-peer SMB and file-generation activities in particular).

As an example, JSA is able to detect abnormal file-write behaviour on a Windows 7 device that’s indicative of ransomware attacks:

You can see above that the offence was generated due to generic ransomware behaviour. When an endpoint begins to write large amounts of files (in this case, encrypt the entire filesystem), it’s rather trivial for a SIEM to detect. What makes Juniper’s offering unique is its ability to propagate arbitrary threat information, through open APIs, across our Software-Defined Secure Networks (SDSN) solution, isolating the affected host from the rest of the network within seconds.

For Juniper SRX and IDP customers, MS17-010 is covered by multiple CVEs and their corresponding signatures. You should ensure the following IDP signatures are enabled in your environment.

For those who are curious, here are some additional insights into WannaCry below.

While the delivery mechanism seems to vary between targets, most payloads involve some sort of portable executable (PE) embedded within a parent file type, generally a PDF.

In the sample PE below, you immediately notice a hardcoded password of 'WNcry@2ol7' that will allow you to open an embedded zip file:

Hardcoded password of WNcry@2ol7.

If you decompress the zip file, you are then presented with the text versions of a ransom message in multiple languages, as can be seen here:

.zip with ransom message in multiple languages. At first glance, the embedded tasksche.exe's function appears to probe all logical drives connected to the target:

tasksche.exe disassembled.

Upon executing the malicious file, the malware reaches out laterally via SMBv1 (TCP 445) using EternalBlue and the user is presented with the following sequence as the malware begins to encrypt the local drives:

And finally, the payment screen.

Since the outbreak of the WannaCry ransomware researchers have been working hard to understand it’s spread and find a way to halt progress. At the time of this publishing, a security researcher who tweets as @MalwareTechBlog halted the spread by "accidentally" activating the killswitch, although the researcher admits that this could be temporary.

The assembly noted below generates a GET request (HTTP) for [uqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea'.'com]. If the request fails, the malware continues to propagate as can be seen here:Credit to @darienhuss.

The first global comment I've seen on this. Lots of comment in the UK, focussing on the major issue created in the National Health Service. But folk might be interested also in this news report which casts a light on the accidental use of the killswitch trapdoor to halt the spread of the attack for $10.69. Health warning: this is mainstream (but reliable and indepentent) UK news media, not specialist comment.

Amy James is Product Marketing lead for Security at Juniper Networks. She brings her knowledge of cyber security from companies like FireEye, Cisco and Cloudmark with deep roots in technology storytelling.

Aviram Zrahia is a consulting engineer at Juniper Networks and an industry researcher of cyberspace. He holds a CISSP and GCIH certifications, as well as a bachelor's degree in computer science and MBA in management of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is also a research fellow in the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) at Tel Aviv University, currently focusing on the domain of threat intelligence sharing.

Brad Minnis, CPP is the Senior Director of Corporate Environmental, Health, Safety & Security for Juniper Networks, Inc. based in Sunnyvale, CA, where he is responsible for strategic design, implementation and management of the company’s security, safety, environment, crisis management and business continuity functions. He also leads the company’s efforts in corporate citizenship and sustainability, and manages the Corporation’s government-related security programs.
Mr. Minnis has over 30 years experience in the Silicon Valley and has managed EHSS operations for a number of high tech companies, including Juniper Networks, 3Com Corporation, and National Semiconductor Corporation.
Mr. Minnis’ specialties include security management, supply chain and product integrity, anti-counterfeit, occupational health and safety and crisis management. In his role as Cyber Incident Response Team Leader for Juniper, Mr. Minnis has managed numerous high impact cyber-related incidents and cross-functional responses.
Mr. Minnis served for ten years in the United States Navy and has served in leadership positions the International Security Management Association (ISMA) and ASIS International, serving as Chairman of the San Francisco Chapter in 2003. He has also co-written several publications on software integrity assurance and supply chain security with organizations such as SAFECode.
Mr. Minnis is certified as a Protection Professional by the Professional Certification Board of ASIS International and attended the University of Connecticut, where he received two certificates in Environmental, Health and Safety

Bill is the Director of Federal Certifications and Policy at Juniper Networks. In this role, Bill focuses on several areas unique to the needs of Federal Government customers, including product certifications, IPv6, and security. Bill came to Juniper Networks in January 2008 after more than 20 years in the IT community working with commercial enterprise customers, service providers, and the US Federal Government.
Bill started his career as an engineering officer in the US Air Force after graduating with a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bill has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Craig Dods is the Chief Architect for Security within Juniper Networks' Strategic Verticals. He currently maintains multiple top-level industry certifications including his JNCIE-SEC, holds multiple networking and security-related patents, as well as having disclosed multiple critical-level CVE's in a responsible manner. Prior to joining Juniper, Craig served as IBM's Managed Security Services' Chief Security Architect, and held previous security roles at Check Point Software Technologies and Nokia.

François Prowse is a Senior Systems Engineer for Juniper Networks, based in Brisbane Australia. Francois joined Juniper in 2006 as part of the New Zealand SE team, subsequently relocating to Australia. Prior to Juniper, Francois worked for four years at Alcatel in both operational and architectural roles, being jointly responsible for the construction of New Zealands' largest MPLS core network. Prior to Alcatel, Francois worked at UUnet, focusing on core network expansion in Europe. In all previous roles JUNOS has been the driving factor behind day to day operations, providing him with over 8 years of operational experience. Francois is a Juniper Networks Certified Internet Expert (JNCIE #144) which he obtained prior to joining Juniper Networks.

Greg Sidebottom is a Senior Engineering Manager in the Identity and Policy Management business unit at Juniper Networks. Greg has spent the last decade plus conceptualizing, architecting, designing, and leading the implementation of Juniper's SDX and SRC families of policy based service management applications. Previous to this, Greg held positions in the software and networking industries at Siemens, Cognos, Nortel, GTE labs subsidiary MPR Teltech, and the Alberta Research Council. Greg is an author of eight invention disclosures resulting in two patents issued and three pending. Greg holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science for the University of Calgary and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University.

Jennifer Blatnik is vice president of cloud, security and enterprise portfolio marketing at Juniper Networks with focus on enterprise deployments of security, routing, switching, and SDN products, as well as cloud solutions. She has more than 20 years of experience helping enterprises solve network security challenges. Before joining Juniper, Jennifer served multiple roles at Cisco Systems, Inc., including directing product management for security technologies aimed at small to medium enterprises, as well as supporting managed services, cloud service architectures and go-to-market strategies. She holds a B.A. in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley.

Jim Kelly,
Senior Product Line Manager – CTP Products Juniper Networks.
Jim Kelly is the senior product line manager for the CTP products where he is responsible for the CTP product direction, marketing and circuit emulation applications within Juniper Networks. Mr. Kelly has more than 28 years of experience in the networking industry in technical roles, sales, marketing, and product management positions. He started his career in the United States Air Force. He has worked for Wang, Digital Telecom Systems, American Airlines, Network Equipment Technologies, Carrier Access, and Nortel Networks. He started Juniper Networks federal DoD sales in July 2000 and joined Juniper Networks again in October 2005 through the acquisition of Acorn Packet Solutions where he was the director of sales and marketing.

I have been in the networking industry for over 35 years: PBXs, SNA, Muxes, ATM, routers, switches, optical - I've seen it all. Twelve years in the US, over 25 in Europe, at companies like AT&T, IBM, Bay Networks, Nortel Networks and Dimension Data. Since 2007 I have been at Juniper, focusing on solutions and services: solving business problems via products and projects. Our market is characterized by amazing technological innovations, but technology is no use if you cannot get it to work and keep it working. That is why services are so exciting: this is where the technology moves out of the glossy brochures and into the real world!
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Kevin Walker is the Security Chief Technology and Strategy Officer for Juniper’s Development and Innovation (JDI) organization. He is responsible for driving the security strategy both internally within Juniper, and externally with investors, partners, influencers, and customers. He provides the guidance required for JDI to conceive, develop and create momentum for industry-leading security solutions. Working closely with the Security Engineering team, Walker identifies the opportunities for improved security, growth, and innovation to deliver the scalable, reliable, and compliant security architecture needed in today’s security landscape.
Before joining Juniper, Walker was VP and Assistant Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Walmart.com. He has served as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Security Strategist and Director of Information Security across a number of notable companies including Intuit, Cisco, Symantec and VERITAS Software. With over twenty-five years in various computer science and information technology disciplines, focusing on enterprise applications, network design, and information security, Walker possesses research and engineering expertise across of range of technologies including networking protocols, securing applications at the atomic level, cryptography, and speech biometrics.

Security Life timer, who has been described as a true IT security ‘guru’.
It is certainly apt: his knowledge and expertise developed over the course of more than 20 years in IT have helped many customers implement a security strategy that not only safeguards their business and information, but enables Digital Transformation. A noted public speaker on security issues, Lee’s passion and style stand out in the sometimes staid world of network security.
Prior to joining Juniper Networks, Lee held a number of business and technical roles at Dr Solomon’s, McAfee, Hewlett Packard, Nokia Siemens Networks and Citrix.
Lee leads the Juniper Networks security business across Europe, Middle East and Africa. In this role, Lee is responsible for the company’s commercial development in the field.

Laurence is passionate about technology, particularly cyber security. His depth and breadth of knowledge of the dynamic security landscape is a result of over twenty years’ experience in cyber security. He understands the security concerns businesses face today and can bring insight to the challenges they will face tomorrow.
Laurence joined Juniper Networks in 2016 and is our senior security specialist in EMEA. Security throughout the network is a key area where Juniper Networks can help as business moves to the cloud and undertakes the challenge of digital transformation.

30 Years in Book Publishing, 20 years in Technical Book Publishing, including Apple Developer Press, Adobe Press, Nokia Developer Books, Palm Books, and since 2001, almost 10 years as consulting editor/editor in chief for Juniper Networks Book. Joined the company and started the Day One book line and in 2011, the new This Week book line.

Michel Tepper is a Juniper consultant and instructor working for
Westcon Security in the Netherlands. He started working in ICT in
1987. Michel is also is a Juniper Ambassador. Currently he holds
three Junos Professional certifications and a number of specialist and
associate certifications on non-Junos tracks. Michel is an active
member of J-Net and juniperforum.com, where he uses the nickname
screenie referring to the ScreenOS with which he started his Juniper
Journey.

Scott is the Director of Product Marketing for Mobile Security at Juniper Networks. In his 20+ years in high tech, Scott has worked on Mobile and Endpoint Security, Network Security, IPS, Managed Services, Network Infrastructure, Co-location, Microprocessor Architecture, Unix Servers and Network Adapters. He has held leadership roles at Check Point, McAfee, Symantec, Exodus Communications, Cable & Wireless, Savvis, and HP.

Sherry Ryan is IT Vice President and CISO of Juniper Networks. Previously, Sherry held similar positions at Blue Shield of California, Hewlett-Packard, Safeway and Levi Strauss where she established and led their information security programs. Sherry holds the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification from ISACA and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from ISC2. She is a member of the High Tech Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).
Sherry has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands, and earned her MBA from the College of Notre Dame.